Donald Trump points a finger during a Navy 250 Celebration in Norfolk, Virginia, on Sunday, October 5, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters.
This Sunday, US President Donald Trump announced that his country’s military forces could begin a new phase of operations against suspected “drug cartels,” aimed at ground targets. Additionally, he announced a fifth strike against a boat in the Caribbean without providing further details.
Trump’s threat comes amid the US military deployment in the southern Caribbean, which jeopardizes regional peace and poses a risk of aggression against Venezuela under the pretext of stemming drug trafficking to the US, the biggest drug market in the world.
The statement came after another missile attack on a small boat in the Caribbean, which the White House said was destroyed near the coast of Venezuela last Friday. All four crew members were killed, and no evidence of the alleged drug shipment was provided.
President Donald Trump said the US forces hit another boat allegedly carrying 'cartel terrorists,' during a speech at Naval Station Norfolk. It was not immediately clear if he was referencing a strike announced October 3 by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth https://t.co/pda33i9JA9 pic.twitter.com/GmmRRpPDnt
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 6, 2025
While boasting of “successes” in such attacks against unarmed people, Trump claimed that the maritime campaign forced “drug traffickers” to change their strategy.
“Now we’ll hunt them down on the ground,” said the White House tenant.
Trump’s stance represents the most explicit escalation yet of the US strategy toward Venezuela, going beyond maritime operations to threaten direct land intervention.
“Over the last few weeks, the Navy has supported our mission to take out cartel terrorists… Now, we simply can’t find them any more. They’re not coming by sea anymore, so we’re going to have to start looking on land because they’re going to be forced to go there,” Trump said during a ceremony at the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia, where the 250th anniversary of the US Navy was being celebrated.
The US ruler emphasized that the attacks on boats have been so successful that “there are no longer any boats” in the area. These attacks have killed over 20 people, and his administration claims the boats were transporting drugs. However, only 5% of drug trafficking to the north passes through Venezuela, according to United Nations reports.
Trump referred to the most recent operation that allegedly occurred on Saturday without offering additional details. He explained that military personnel would provide more information about what the White House said was the fifth attack. It was not immediately clear if he was referring to the strike announced on Friday by the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth.
Before Friday, the Pentagon confirmed the destruction of four small boats that, according to the US War Department, were transporting drugs, and the 21 people killed were drug traffickers.
In Norfolk, the US president took the opportunity to blame Democrats for the partial government shutdown, which is preventing payments to the military.
(Telesur) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SF
